Iserotope Extras #72: The Making of an American Terrorist

Happy Thursday, everyone! Please welcome new subscribers Howe and Kay. Lately, I’m doing a better job pairing articles. This week, the first two — about a white American terrorist, and then a peaceful Syrian refugee girl — are meant to be read together. Then there’s a break, after which there are two more related articles focusing on economics, the gap between rich and poor, and how San Francisco needs to do better. Please enjoy!

While white Americans worry about the specter of radical Islam, thousands of Syrian refugees are peacefully building productive lives in Canada. The New York Times has done an excellent job reporting on how Canadians are welcoming Syrian refugees with open arms. What happens, though, when all your 10-year-old daughter wants to do is attend overnight science camp, go trick-or-treating, and choose not to wear a head scarf?

This article captures what’s wrong with San Francisco. We think we’re good people, but really, we’re not. “California liberalism,” author Daniel Duane argues, has focused on environmentalism, gay rights, and tolerance from afar, rather than “caring for the least among us.” Instead of working closely with and for homeless people, poor people, and people of color, most (white) San Franciscans stay safely away, while simultaneously passing judgment on those who aren’t progressive enough.

My former colleague Nínive Calegari, who founded The Teacher Salary Project, argues that teachers should be paid more, that they shouldn’t feel like they need to take second jobs in order to make ends meet, and that our society should have more respect for teachers. It’s nothing new, but it’s essential nonetheless. To see what’s changed, read some of the comments, where you’ll hear people say, If you want higher salaries, let’s get rid of your pension, just like other professions.

Thank you for reading Extras #72! It was heavy on the NYT and the WaPo this week, but that’s because they’re great publications doing great things. If you disagree with my choices, let me know! (I can take light criticism.) As always, if you like Extras, pester your friends and family, carry on incessantly about how great it is, and goad them to subscribe. In the meantime, enjoy your week, and I’ll see you next Thursday at 9:10 am.

Robert Dear shot up a Planned Parenthood clinic and killed three people in Colorado Springs in November 2015. Dear is white, poor, middle-aged, Christian, and mentally ill. He lived in an RV in a rural part of Colorado. And he watched a lot of right-wing TV and read a lot of right-wing websites. There are a lot of Robert Dears in America. That’s what makes this article so scary. (This article was also featured in Iserotope.)